After 11 years as an Infantryman...I'm now a cable guy with an opinion.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Honesty: The family value Republicans hate.

Conservative chide liberals on a consistent basis about being inconsistent on issues, having a weak platform and no plan for action.

In Minnesota, polarizing figures like Marty Seifert grab a microphone and spout rhetoric about how real families would never budget the way that Minnesota Democrats do, or have proposed through tax increases.

While I am skeptical of tax increases to fix our woes, especially in Greater Minnesota, I do question what the Republican plan would be then?

The biggest tax hike will be on those who earn the most in the state. Families making more than $250,000 a year will move up to a 8.7% tax bracket, the highest in the nation.

Why all the complaining? The impact out here in Greater Minnesota will be minor. Our median household income out here is just over $40,000 a year. The impact will be minimal.

I finally get it.

Senator Dille's top legislative priority is about to happen and the DFL will tax it to make Minnesota better. The plan is crystal clear now.

Dille, as he has stated publicly in numerous forums across the Senate District, wants to ensure that every Minnesotan is a happily married millionaire. In fact, its been his top legislative priority for many years now, his "3M" plan.

Presto!

Where will I send my $87,000 annual tax check too?

Years of Republican control of the Minnesota House and the Governor's mansion have gutted school programs, mental health and other social programs, and many other facets of everyday life out here in Greater Minnesota.

Recall that the Republican plans for school accountability were that they wanted 70% of all school funding to be directly related to the classroom. The state's own figures showed that this efficiency hovered at around 68-69%.

Mental health facilities in Greater Minnesota are feeling the impact of being stretched beyond capacity. The problem has become so bad in all of Minnesota, that Metro Area hospitals send patients to Greater Minnesota facilities. When people in Greater Minnesota look for this highly needed care, they are turned away or wait.

I could go on and on here about the day to day issues that working and middle class families face in Greater Minnesota...

What would the Republican plan be? More tax cuts? At the sacrifice of public education?

As for Seifert's family budget rant and family values mantra...

What about honesty? With a plethora of neo-conservative Republican deceit in Washington now, Chiefs of Staff contradicting their bosses and a lack of transparency, isn't telling the truth a family value?